System for generating a user interface for a social network and method therefor

ABSTRACT

A device, system, and method may variously include or utilize a processor to cause a user device to display a content selection display area and a content display area. The content selection display area may include subject matter categories and icons, at least some of the icons being individually associated with at least one of the subject matter categories and at least some of the categories being associated with at least one of the plurality of icons. Each category is associated with at most a predetermined number of the plurality of icons. The content display area is configured to display content corresponding to at least one of the plurality of icons as selected in the content selection display area.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/894,190, filed Oct. 22, 2013, which is incorporatedby reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to a userinterface having multiple subject matter categories.

BACKGROUND

Contemporary social networks display content relating to a variety ofcontent categories. Member profiles, user messages and comments,information from groups and companies, advertisements, and the like cancombine to create the overall content that constitutes at least some ofthe content that can be displayed on a web page or application (“app”)to users of the social network. Such information has been organized in agenerally linear scrolling display conventionally known as a “newsfeed,”“feed,” or “stream.” Newsfeeds have been organized according to theorder in which information is received, relevance, and other criteria.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation inthe figures of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating various components or functionalmodules of a social network, in an example embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an example user interface for displaying social media contenton a client device, in an example embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an example of a content display area in which the size of thecontent display area may vary, in an example embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a complete depiction of a ribbon, in an example embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a depiction of a page displaying an icon selection functionthat may be performed by a user, in an example embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an abstract illustration of a social network content item asdisplayed in a content display area, in an example embodiment.

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate a method for inline expansion and contraction ofa social network content item, in an example embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of an icon, in an example embodiment.

FIGS. 9A-9C illustrate a process by which a background of an icon isgenerated, in an example embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for displaying a social network user interface,in an example embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for displaying a social network content displayarea having multiple pages, in an example embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for generating and displaying an icon, in anexample embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for inline expansion and contraction of socialnetwork content items in a newsfeed, in an example embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine able toread instructions from a machine-readable medium.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example methods and systems are directed to generating a social networkuser interface. Examples merely typify possible variations. Unlessexplicitly stated otherwise, components and functions are optional andmay be combined or subdivided, and operations may vary in sequence or becombined or subdivided. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of example embodiments. It will be evident to oneskilled in the art, however, that the present subject matter may bepracticed without these specific details.

As the sources of social network information expand, the way in whichsuch information is presented to users of the social network may becomemore challenging. A user of the social network has the potential to beexposed to so much information that the utility of the informationand/or the user experience in general may be reduced. A conventionalnewsfeed, for instance, may become so long and filled with so muchinformation that a user may have difficulty finding desired informationor may be overwhelmed by the amount of information presented.

It has been discovered that users of social networks may tend to focustheir attention on certain types or categories of information. Withinsuch categories, a user may tend to focus their attention on particulardiscrete sources of information. For instance, while a user may beinterested in news or social network pages from groups or organizationsin general, the user may be particularly interested in news or pagesfrom a few groups or organizations. Thus, the user may, for instance,tend to interact with news or pages from a particular subset of groupsor organizations once or more per day and other groups or organizationsless frequently.

A system has been developed that may produce a user interface thatincludes a display area or “ribbon” for the organization and display ofsocial media content. The ribbon may be scrolling or scrollable and mayorganize icons according to a tendency for or likelihood of a user toaccess the icons. The icons may include icons for particular content,such as a link to a webpage or other social media source, and forcategories that may include multiple pieces of particular content. Thecategory icons may be ordered, at least in part, according to a tendencyor likelihood of a user to access the given categories. Within one ormore of the categories, icons related to particular content from a givencategory may be displayed along with the category and ordered accordingto a tendency or likelihood of the user to access the particularcontent. In various examples, only a subset of the particular contentfor a given category is displayed, such as a predetermined number oficons or fewer that the user may be most likely or have the greatesttendency to access.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating various components or functionalmodules of a social network 100, consistent with some examples. A frontend 101 consists of a user interface module (e.g., a web server) 102,which receives requests from various client-computing devices, andcommunicates appropriate responses to the requesting client devices. Forexample, the user interface module(s) 102 may receive requests in theform of Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) requests, or otherweb-based, application programming interface (API) requests. Anapplication logic layer 103 includes various application server modules104, which, in conjunction with the user interface module(s) 102, maygenerates various user interfaces (e.g., web pages, applications, etc.)with data retrieved from various data sources in a data layer 105. Insome examples, individual application server modules 104 may be used toimplement the functionality associated with various services andfeatures of the social network service. For instance, the ability of anorganization to establish a presence in the social graph of the socialnetwork 100, including the ability to establish a customized web page onbehalf of an organization, and to publish messages or status updates onbehalf of an organization, may be services implemented in independentapplication server modules 104. Similarly, a variety of otherapplications or services that are made available to members of thesocial network service may be embodied in their own application servermodules 104. Alternatively, various applications may be embodied in asingle application server module 104.

In some examples, the social network 100 includes a message publishingmodule 106, such as may be utilized to receive content, such asmessages, posts, links, images, videos, and the like, and publish thecontent to the social network. The message publishing module 106, or thesocial network 100 generally, may include a recommended interactionmodule 108. As will be disclosed in detail herein, the recommendedinteraction module 108 may generate and present, such as via the messagepublishing module 106, recommended interactions for particular membersof the social network 100 based on a relevance of various events, suchas are stored in the data layer 105 or obtained via the applicationserver module 104, the message publishing module 106, and/or the socialnetwork 100 generally.

As illustrated, the data layer 105 includes, but is not necessarilylimited to, several databases 110, 112, 114, such as a database 110 forstoring profile data, including both member profile data as well asprofile data for various organizations. Consistent with some examples,when a person initially registers to become a member of the socialnetwork service, the person may be prompted to provide some personalinformation, such as his or her name, age (e.g., birthdate), gender,interests, contact information, home town, address, the names of themember's spouse and/or family members, educational background (e.g.,schools, majors, matriculation and/or graduation dates, etc.),employment history, skills, professional organizations, and so on. Thisinformation is stored, for example, in the database 110. Similarly, whena representative of an organization initially registers the organizationwith the social network service, the representative may be prompted toprovide certain information about the organization. This information maybe stored, for example, in the database 110, or another database (notshown). With some examples, the profile data may be processed (e.g., inthe background or offline) to generate various derived profile data. Forexample, if a member has provided information about various job titlesthe member has held with the same or different companies, and for howlong, this information can be used to infer or derive a member profileattribute indicating the member's overall seniority level, or senioritylevel within a particular company. With some examples, importing orotherwise accessing data from one or more externally hosted data sourcesmay enhance profile data for both members and organizations. Forinstance, with companies in particular, financial data may be importedfrom one or more external data sources, and made part of a company'sprofile.

Once registered, a member may invite other members, or be invited byother members, to connect via the social network service. A “connection”may require a bi-lateral agreement by the members, such that bothmembers acknowledge the establishment of the connection. Similarly, withsome examples, a member may elect to “follow” another member. Incontrast to establishing a connection, the concept of “following”another member typically is a unilateral operation, and at least withsome examples, does not require acknowledgement or approval by themember that is being followed. When one member follows another, themember who is following may receive status updates or other messagespublished by the member being followed, or relating to variousactivities undertaken by the member being followed. Similarly, when amember follows an organization, the member becomes eligible to receivemessages or status updates published on behalf of the organization. Forinstance, messages or status updates published on behalf of anorganization that a member is following will appear in the member'spersonalized data feed or content stream. In any case, the variousassociations and relationships that the members establish with othermembers, or with other entities and objects, are stored and maintainedwithin the social graph database 112.

The social network service may provide a broad range of otherapplications and services that allow members the opportunity to shareand receive information, often customized to the interests of themember. For example, with some examples, the social network service mayinclude a photo sharing application that allows members to upload andshare photos with other members. With some examples, members may be ableto self-organize into groups, or interest groups, organized around asubject matter or topic of interest. With some examples, the socialnetwork service may host various job listings providing details of jobopenings with various organizations.

As members interact with the various applications, services and contentmade available via the social network service, the members' behavior(e.g., content viewed, links selected, etc.) may be monitored andinformation concerning the member's behavior may be stored, for example,as indicated in FIG. 1 by the database 114. This information may be usedto classify the member as being in various categories. For example, ifthe member performs frequent searches of job listings, therebyexhibiting behavior indicating that the member is a likely job seeker,this information can be used to classify the member as a job seeker.This classification can then be used as a member profile attribute forpurposes of enabling others to target the member for receiving messagesor status updates. Accordingly, a company that has available jobopenings can publish a message that is specifically directed to certainmembers of the social network service who are job seekers, and thus,more likely to be receptive to recruiting efforts.

The profile data database 110 and the member activity database 114 may,among other sources in the social network 100, include or store events116. Such events include but are not necessarily limited to birthdays,anniversaries, change of status (employment, location, etc.), apublication, and a previous interaction. Such events may be storedautomatically and/or may be stored on the basis of a user selection orchoice.

Although not shown, with some examples, the social network 100 providesan application programming interface (API) module via which third-partyapplications can access various services and data provided by the socialnetwork service. For example, using an API, a third-party applicationmay provide a user interface and logic that enables an authorizedrepresentative of an organization to publish messages from a third-partyapplication to various content streams maintained by the social networkservice. Such third-party applications may be browser-basedapplications, or may be operating system-specific. In particular, somethird-party applications may reside and execute on one or more mobiledevices (e.g., phone, or tablet computing devices) having a mobileoperating system.

User Interface

FIG. 2 is an example user interface 200 for displaying social mediacontent on a client device 202. It is to be recognized that the userinterface 200 may incorporate any of a variety of additionalinformation, related to social network activity or otherwise, notexplicitly shown here.

The client device 202 may be any of a variety of computing orcommunication devices, such as personal computers, tablet computers,notebooks, netbooks, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs),personal media players, or any device configured to display a webpage,network-connected application, or other information-displayingmechanism. The client device 202 may be one of a variety of clientdevices 202 that may be connected to the system 100 via a communicationnetwork, as disclosed herein. The user interface 200 may correspond to aparticular user of the social network and may not necessarilyconsistently correspond to a particular client device 202 but rather maybe accessed from any of a variety of client devices 202 communicativelycoupled to the system 100.

The user interface 200 is a user interface such as may be generated bythe user interface module 102. As illustrated, the example userinterface includes content selection display area or ribbon 204 and acontent display area 206 as well as a menu bar 208. The ribbon 204 and,in certain instances, the menu bar 208, may allow for the selection ofcontent for displaying in the content display area 206. In variousexamples of the user interface 200, some or all of the content selectiondisplay area 204, the content display area 206, and the menu bar may beincluded or not included, and various examples of the various areas 204,206, 208 may be included or mixed and matched. For instance, as will bedisclosed herein, a ribbon 204 may be combined with a conventionalcontent display area 206 that does not include multiple pages, or acontent display area 206 may be utilized with only a menu bar 208 andnot with a content selection display area 204. Any combination of all orsome of the components 204, 206, 208 is contemplated.

The menu bar 208 may provide for the selection of generally system-levelsocial network commands and interactions. Thus, in contrast to thefunction of the ribbon 204 as disclosed herein, the menu bar 208 mayprovide for the selection not of social network content but rathernotifications, searching, and general information. The menu bar 208 maydisplay information and/or results in a variety of ways, including asdrop-down displays, separate windows, and/or as pages in the contentdisplay area 206 as disclosed herein. Additionally or alternatively, invarious examples in which the ribbon 204 is hidden, the ribbon 204 maybe selected and displayed from the menu bar 208.

Ribbon

The ribbon 204 includes icons 210 corresponding to social networkcontent that may, upon selection of the icon 210, cause the display ofthe content corresponding to the icon 210. In an example, the selectionof an icon 210 causes the display of a page in the content display area206 as disclosed herein. In various alternative examples, the selectionof an icon 210 may cause the display of other icons 210, such as in theribbon or elsewhere in the user interface 200.

In an example, various icons 210A correspond to individual pages thatmay be displayed in the content display area 206. Other icons 210Bcorrespond to categories of social network content. As illustrated,icons 210 are organized according to categories 212. However, certaincategories have more than a predetermined number of icons 210A; asillustrated, the predetermined number is two (2), but it is to berecognized that the predetermined maximum number of icons 210A percategory may be selected to any desirable number. Categories with morethan two (2) icons 210A may thus have a category icon 210B that causesthe display of additional icons 210A of the category 212. In an example,the selection of the category icon 210B causes the display of all of theicons 210A of the category 212. The display of the additional icons 210Aupon the selection of the category icon 210B may be in the ribbon 204 ormay be elsewhere in the user interface 200, such as a page in thecontent display area 206.

The ribbon 204 may be configured to scroll if the total number of icons210 to be displayed exceeds the space allotted for the ribbon 204. Thescrolling of the ribbon 204 may be conducted according to any of anumber of scrolling techniques known in the art. For instance, where theclient device 202 includes a touchscreen, a user may swipe the ribbon204 in one direction or the other. Where the client device 202 includesa mouse the mouse may be used with a cursor to drag the ribbon 204 or ascroll wheel may similarly be utilized.

In an example, the ribbon 204 includes a particular icon 210 and/orcategory 212 as the first icon 210 or category 212 in the ribbon 204. Insuch an example, the origin of the ribbon 204 places the first icon 210in the left-most position of the ribbon 204 as illustrated and theribbon 204 cannot be scrolled further to the left. Relatedly, anothericon 210 may be in the last, right-most position of the ribbon 204 andthe ribbon 204 cannot be scrolled past the right-most position. In adifferent example, the ribbon 204 may loop and cycle through the icons210 in series, with the first icon 210 being adjacent to the last icon210 in the loop.

While the ribbon 204 is illustrated as being horizontal, toward the topof the user interface, and left-to-right in the user interface 200, itis to be recognized that the ribbon 204 may be positioned in any of avariety of orientations and locations in the user interface 200. In anexample, the ribbon 204 is a vertical orientation from top-to-bottom. Invarious examples, the ribbon 204 is above the menu bar 208 on the userinterface 200.

The categories 212 may be selected in the first instance and thenorganized into positions 214 according to various factors. In anexample, categories 212 are organized according to one or more of: pastaccessing of icons 210 of the category 212, a likelihood in the futureof the user accessing icons 210 of the category 212, a user selection oruser preference for the ordering of the categories 212, and socialnetwork administrator ordering of the categories 212. Thus, a user mayinitially be presented with categories 212 that are generally popularwithin the social network and given the option to make a user selectionof those and other categories as disclosed herein. Certain factors mayoverride other factors.

In the illustrated example, the “home” category may be placed in a firstposition 214A based on a social network administrator ordering thatoverrides other factors. Thus, the “home” category may always beaccessible to a user. It is to be understood that the social networkadministrator may recognizing multiple categories 212 as being inrelatively early positions 214 in the ribbon 204 and may thus order suchcategories 212 accordingly.

Additional categories 212 may be organized in later positions 214Baccording to a default based on pas accessing and/or future likelihoodof the user of the user interface 202 to access icons 210 of therespective categories. It is recognized that past selection of icons 210may be indicative of future likelihood to access such icons 210 and thatsuch factors may, to an extent, be redundant. However, interactions byother members of the social network may provide data that indicates thata given user of the user interface 200 may have an increased futurelikelihood of selecting an icon 210 from a category 212 even though theuser has not had a high past selection rate of such icons 210. Forinstance, the system 100 may note that accessing icons 210 from acertain category 212 is increasing within the social network as a wholeand may thus place the category 212 in a higher position 214 within theribbon 204.

In an example, a first category 212 that has had more previousselections by the user over a given time period than a second categoryis placed in a earlier position 214B while a second category 212 thathas fewer previous selections is placed in a later position 214C. Thegiven time period may be selected or modified to increase or decrease asensitivity to the user's most recent uses of the social network. Thus,the time period may be selected ranging from days, weeks, or months.

A number of times the user has selected icons 210 from a category 212may be weighted according to other factors or user selectionconsiderations. For instance, previous selections may be based on aregularity with which those selections occur. For instance, if a userconsistently selects an icon 210 from a category 212 every time or mosttimes the user accesses the social network then the category 212 may beplaced in an earlier position 212B than a category 212 that has beenaccessed approximately the same number of times but inconsistently andnot necessarily every time or most times the user accesses the socialnetwork. In an example, the weight of a category 212 may be reduced bythe percentage of time the category 212 is accessed during a sessionwith the social network; thus, if a category is accessed in only forty(40) percent of sessions then the significance of previous accessing ofthe category 212 may be reduced by sixty (60) percent.

Previous selections of icons 210 of a category 212 may further beweighted by accessing categories 212 and icons 210 by other users of thesocial network. Thus, if a category 212 is increasing in accessgenerally throughout the social network then the category 212 may beplaced in an earlier position 214B in the ribbon 204. In an example, theweight of a category 212 may be adjusted by a percentage increase ordecrease of the accessing of the category 212 in the social networkgenerally over a period of time. Thus, if usage of a category 212 in thesocial network generally is up twenty-five (25) percent over a two (2)week period then the category 212 may be weighted twenty-five (25)percent higher in positioning the category 212 in the ribbon 204.

In various examples, user ordering of categories 212 may be treated as aweighting of the position of the category 212. Thus, for instance, theweight of a category 212 may be doubled if the user selects the category212 as being of particular interest to the user. Alternatively, userordering of a category 212 may be dispositive over some or all of theother factors. Thus, if the user positions a category 212 in aparticular position 214B the user interface 200 or the system 100generally may not override that positioning. In various examples, userordering does not override all other factors. In an example, the socialnetwork administrator ordering may not be overridden by the user.

Thus, in such an example, the user may order categories as the userdesires except for changing the position of the “home” category. In suchan example, categories 212 that are not deliberately ordered by theadministrator and/or the user may then be subject to previous selectionand likelihood to select. In various examples, user ordering may beoverridden in the event the user has not accessed the category 212 for aselected period of time. For instance, if the user has not accessed acategory in three (3) months the category may be treated as no longerbeing subject to user ordering.

The icons 210 can be organized within the categories 210 according tosome or all of the factors described with respect to the categories 212.Thus, icons 210 may be ordered within categories 212 based on userselection, previous use, and so forth. In various examples, as notedabove, the predetermined number of icons 210 that are highest-ratedaccording to the factors described herein are displayed in the ribbon204 while the other icons 210 of a category 212 are displayed only onselection of the category icon 212B, as disclosed in further detailherein.

Pages

The content display area 206, as illustrated, includes multiple pages216A, 216B, 216C (collectively “pages 216”). In an example, each page216 is opened upon the selection of a corresponding icon 210 in theribbon 204 and/or a selection from the menu bar 208. As noted above, theribbon 204 may be applicable without a content display area 206 that mayprovide multiple pages 216 and the content display area 206 withmultiple pages 216 may be utilized without the ribbon 204. While theribbon 204 and the pages 216 will be discussed herein with respect toone another, it is to be understood that the principles described hereinare applicable to other selection of social media content withoutrespect to the ribbon 204.

As illustrated, the pages 216 are layered and superimposed in agraphical stack as their corresponding icons 210 are selected. Thus, apage 216C that was selected first in time among the pages 216 displayedgenerally is on the bottom of the stack while the pages 216A, 216B thatwere selected after the selection of the page 216C are displayed on topof the page 216, with the most recently selected page 216A on the top ofthe stack. If another icon 210 were selected following the display ofthe page 216A then a page 216 corresponding to the icon 210 would bedisplayed over the page 216A.

Pages 216 which are not on the top of the stack are visible in partthough their content is obscured in whole or in part. As illustrated,the pages 216 are fully opaque with respect to one another and thecontent of the lower pages 216B, 216C is fully or substantially obscuredby the pages above them. In various examples, the pages 216 may be atleast partially transparent or otherwise offset with respect to oneanother and allow the content of lower pages 216B, 216C to be visible.

As illustrated, the top page 216A includes a page closing icon 218. Whenselected by the user the top page 216A is removed or otherwise deletedand the page 216B becomes the top page. In various examples, theselection of a lower page 216B, 216C, such as by touching or clicking ona visible portion of the page 216B, 216C, may bring the selected page216 to the top, either by closing or otherwise deleting the pages 216above the selected page or by placing the selected page 216 on the topof the stack and ahead of the unselected pages 216.

In various examples, the selection of an icon 210 that corresponds tocontent that is already included in a page 216, e.g., page 216B, mayhave various effects. In one example, the selection of the icon 210creates a new instance of the same content in a new page 216 that isplaced over the page 216A. Alternatively, the selection of the icon 210may bring the page 216B to the top of the stack by placing the page 216Babove the page 216A, i.e., by placing the page 216B above every otherpage 216 on the stack. Alternatively, the selection of the icon 210 maybring the page 216B to the top of the stack by deleting the page 216A,i.e., by deleting any page above the page 216 corresponding to the icon.

In various examples, certain icons 210 may result in different effectson the display of pages 216. For instance, the selection of the “home”icon 210 may delete all other pages 216, resulting in the display onlyof the page 216 corresponding to “home” while the selection of othericons 210 places the corresponding page on the top of the stack. It isto be recognized that the “home” icon 210 may function the same as othericons 210, or the other icons 210 may have unique functions onselection.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a content display area 300 in which thesize of the content display area may vary. For instance, the contentdisplay area 300 may be expanded during normal use to obscure a ribbon204 and/or the menu bar 208. Thus, when the user is viewing pages 302and not seeking to select new icons 210, such as to display new pages302, the content display area 300 may occupy all or substantially all ofthe visual space 304 of a user interface 306. However, when the userwishes to select a new icon 210 the user may bring up the ribbon 204 andcause the content display area 300 to contract back to a space asillustrated in FIG. 2.

As illustrated, the while the ribbon 204 is obscured, the contentdisplay area 300 does not cover the menu bar 208. In various alternativeexamples, the content display area 300 may expand to cover or otherwiseobscure the menu bar 208 in whole or in part. Further, while the contentdisplay area 300 is shown as covering the entire ribbon 204, in variousexamples the ribbon 204 is covered or obscured only in part by thecontent display area 300.

The content display area 300 illustrates an alternative arrangement forthe pages 302 in contrast to the pages 216 of the content display area206. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the pages 216 are shown receding into thebackground the farther down the stack they go; thus, the page 216Cappears smaller than the pages 216A and 216B. As illustrated in FIG. 3,the pages 302 are of the same size regardless of which is on top of thestack of pages 302.

Additionally, the pages 302 as illustrated do not include a visibleclosing icon, such as the closing icon 218 of the pages 216. Thus, thepages 302 may be deleted or removed from the user interface 306 byselecting an icon 210 that may delete pages 302 on the user interface306, such as the “home” icon above. Additionally or alternatively, thepages 302 may include a closing icon that is normally concealed butwhich may be made visible through a user interaction, such as byhovering a cursor over a region that corresponds to the closing icon orby tapping a portion of the page 302 that corresponds to a concealedclosing icon. However, it is to be understood that the pages 302 mayoptionally include a visual closing icon in various examples.Additionally or alternatively, pages 302 may be removed withoutinteracting with a closing icon 218, such as through a physical gesture,such as a swipe.

Icon Selection

FIG. 4 is a depiction of a complete depiction 400 of the ribbon 204 asshown in FIG. 2. The visible region 402 depicts approximately what isvisible in FIG. 2. By scrolling the ribbon 204 the visible region 402slides left or right along the ribbon 204 to represent what is viewableon the user interface 200. As noted above, the left-most end 404 may bea highest-priority position 406 in the ribbon 204 while the right-mostend 408 may be a lowest-priority position 410 based on the factorsdescribed herein. Other categories 212 may be positioned along theribbon 204 in descending priority from left to right according to thefactors described herein.

As illustrated, the lowest priority categories 212 are for settings 412and adding an icon 414. Such categories 412, 414 may be set to thelowest priority based on administrative ordering, as disclosed above.Thus, it is noted that, in the illustrated example, administrativeordering places categories in both the highest-and lowest-prioritypositions 406, 410. However, in various examples, the administrativeordering does not necessarily place categories in both or either of thehigh and low priority positions 406, 410.

Because the ribbon 400 may operate without respect to, for instance, aclient display area 206, the selection of an icon 210 in the ribbon 400does not necessarily inherently result in the display of associatedcontent in a page. For instance, the selection of an icon 210 may causethe related content to be displayed in a dropdown menu, a popup window,or other location. Further, while in examples where the ribbon 400 isincorporated with the content display area 206 the selection of an icon210 results or may result in the presentation of the content in thecontent display area 206, it is noted that in examples where settingsand adding an icon are included in the menu bar 208 the associatedfunction may appear as a dropdown menu or in another presentation.

FIG. 5 is a depiction of a page 500 displaying an icon selectionfunction that may be performed by a user, as described above. In anexample, the icon selection page 500 is displayed in the content displayarea 206 upon the selection of a corresponding icon 210 from the ribbon400. In examples where the content display area 206 is not associatedwith a ribbon 204, 400 or the selection of icons may result in thedisplay of icons in places other than the ribbon 204, 400, the iconselection page 500 may be displayed based on a selection from the menubar 208 or other selection source.

The page 500 includes multiple icons 502 that correspond to content thatmay be displayed in the content display area 206, such as in individualpages 302. The icons 502 may be all icons that may be available.However, all of the icons that may be available may be too many to bepractical to be displayed, and as such the icons 502 may be a subset ofa complete universe of icons. In various examples, the subset of icons502 may be based on search criteria entered by a user, may be based onparticular categories with which the icons 502 may be displayed in theribbon 204, may be based on recommended content from the system 100, maybe based on content that has been promoted by a sponsoring entity, maybe based on an advertisement, and so forth. In an example, when the userselects the icon 414 for adding an icon a list of categories isdisplayed to the user with which the user may select a category. Icons502 corresponding to that category may be displayed on the page 500. Theicons 502 may further be searched or subject to some or all of thelimiting criteria described above.

The icons 502 may be organized according to some or all of the criterialisted above. Thus, recommended or sponsored content may be positionedcloser to a top 504 of the page 500 than unsponsored or non-recommendedicons 502. Icons 502 that correspond most closely to search criteria maybe posited closer to the top 504 of the page than icons 502 that do notmeet search criteria or do not meet search criteria as closely.

Selection of an icon 502 may be conducted according to any of a varietyof modes. If a user selects the icon 502 by touching, clicking, orotherwise directly interacting with the icon 502, the icon 502 may beselected and placed in the ribbon 204 according to the criteriadisclosed herein. A user may be prompted for confirmation that the icon204 is to be added to the ribbon 204. Alternatively, an icon 502 may beselected by, for instance, dragging the icon 502 to the ribbon 204. Insuch an example, the dragging act may place the icon 502 in a particularlocation in the ribbon 204 based on a location in the ribbon 204 towhich the user drags the icon 502.

Incline Expansion

FIG. 6 is an abstract illustration of a social network content item 600as displayed in a content display area 206, such as in a page 302.Multiple social network content items 600 may be displayed in thecontent display area 206 or a social network content item 600 may bedisplayed within the content display area at a time. The social networkcontent item 600 is generally illustrated in an expanded state, but isdemarcated by dashed lines that indicate the limits of a contractedstate 602.

The social network content item 600 includes a title space 604, acontent space 606, and a state button 608. The title space 604 mayinclude a title and/or other identifying indicator for the socialnetwork content item 600, such as an author or posting entity, a dateand/or time at which the content item 600 was posted, and otherinformation that may be useful to a user. The content space 606 includescontent such as text, images, videos, links, and the like that may befound in social media content generally or that may come to be displayedin social media content in the future. The content space 606 may besufficiently large to display the text, images, etc., and may bevariable based on the total content to be displayed.

The state button 608 may be a soft button, a link, a hot spot, or othermechanism by which a user input may be received by the system 100. Thestate button 608 may expand and contract the content item 600. The basestate for the content item 600 may be in a contracted state, in whichthe content space 606 occupies no more space than the contracted contentspace 610 and the social network content item 600 as a whole occupies nomore space than the contracted social media content space 602.

The content space 606 may thus display only a sub-portion of the totalcontent that may be displayed in the content space 606. For instance, ifthe content includes three paragraphs, the contracted content space 610may be large enough for only one paragraph or less. In various examples,the contracted content space 610 is the same for all content items 600that may be displayed, e.g., on a single page 302. In such an example,the content of each social network content item 600 may be truncatedindiscriminately to only display an amount of content sufficient to fillthe contracted content space 610 and no more. In various alternativeexamples, the content may be truncated according to various criteria,for instance to display a complete sentence or paragraph or otherconventional grammatical demarcation, or to display a designated summaryor other contracted content as may be provided, for instance, by anentity which generated the social network content item 600. In such anexample, the size of the contracted content space 610 may vary betweenand among social network content items 600 in a single content displayarea 206.

Upon selection of the state button 608, the content item 600 may beexpanded to the full size of the content item 600 as displayed. Theexpansion of the content item 600 may be animated from the contracted toexpanded states or may simply jump from contracted to expanded.Selection of the state button 608 when the content item 600 is in theexpanded state may transition the content item 600 to the contractedstate.

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate a method for inline expansion and contraction ofa social network content item. The various individual steps of expansionand contraction may be applicable outside of this particular example andmay be performed in any of a variety of orders. Additional steps thatare not illustrated here may further be incorporated as appropriate.

In FIG. 7A a content display area 700 is illustrated that displays on auser input social network content items 600A, 600B, 600C, each in acontracted state.

In FIG. 7B, upon a user selecting the state button 608B, the socialnetwork content item 600B expands, moving the social network contentitem 600C out of the content display area 700.

In FIG. 7C, the user scrolls the content display area 700 up so that thesocial network content item 600B is no longer displayed on the userinterface. After the social network content item 600B scrolls off thecontent display area 700, the social network content item 600Bautomatically reverts to the contracted state, so that if and when thecontent display area 700 is scrolled so that the social network contentitem 600B is back to being displayed the social network content item600B is in the contracted state.

It is to be understood that the placing of the social network contentitem 600B in the contracted state may not occur unless the socialnetwork content item 600B is actually displayed on the content displayarea 700 again. Thus, the system 100 may not process the contraction ofthe social network content item 600B until the social network contentitem 600B is to be displayed again. In various examples, however, thecontraction of the social network content item 600B is illustratedgraphically in the content display area 700. In one such example, as thesocial network content item 600B is scrolling off the screen thecontraction of the social network content item 600B is illustrated, forinstance with an animation of the social network content item 600Bcontracting from the expanded state to the contracted state.

Automatic contraction of the social network content item 600B may begenerally understood to be based on no longer displaying the socialnetwork content item 600B from the content display area 700, such as byscrolling the content item 600B off of the content display area 700.Partial removal of the social network content item 600B from the contentdisplay area 700 may qualify to automatically contract the content item600B. For instance, if the content item 600B as expanded is scrolled offof the content display area 700 so that only the contracted contentspace 610 is displayed then the content item 600B may be contracted. Thecontent item 600B may be partially contracted, such as a circumstancewhere part of the content space 606 is scrolled off of the contentdisplay area 700, in which case the content item 600B may be contractedonly as much as has scrolled off of the content display area 700.Various alternative contracting mechanisms are contemplated.

In FIG. 7D, the user scrolls the content display area 700 up so that thesocial network content item 600B is again displayed. As noted above,because the social network content item 600B was expanded and thenscrolled of the content display area 700, the social network contentitem 600B as displayed is in the contracted state. A user may return thesocial network content item 600B to the expanded state by selecting thestate button 608B as described above.

Icon Background

FIG. 8 is an illustration of an icon 800. The icon 800 may be generatedby the system 100 and displayed on the user interface 200. The icon 800includes a base graphic 802, such as a logo or picture representative ofcontent associated with the icon 800. The icon 800 further includes abackground 804 that may be generated based on the graphic 802. The icon800 optionally includes a label 806 that may describe, at least in part,the icon 800 and/or the related content. The background 804 of the icon800 may be generated based on the graphic 802.

FIGS. 9A-9C illustrate a process by which the background 806 of the icon800 is generated.

In FIG. 9A, the background 806 has an area 900. The graphic 802 isincreased uniformly to occupy an area at least approximately as large asthe area 900 of the background 806 in all dimensions.

In FIG. 9B, the graphic 802 is blurred to create a blurred graphic 902.The graphic 802 may be blurred to any of a variety of degrees andaccording to a variety of methods. In an example, the graphic 802 isblurred to a 25px radius, though various degrees of blurriness arecontemplated.

In FIG. 9C, the color is overlaid on the blurred graphic 902. In variousexamples, the color is overlaid to a predetermined opacity. In anexample, the opacity is approximately forty (40) percent. In variousalternative examples, the opacity may be increased or decreaseddepending on a desired dominance of the color as overlaid.

The color overlaid may be selected according to a variety of criteria.In an example, the color overlaid is selected based on color-sampling ofthe graphic 802 and/or the blurred graphic 902. In an example, the coloras overlaid may be a dominant color of the graphic 802 and/or theblurred graphic 902. The dominant color may be determined by, forinstance, an analysis of some or all of the pixels of the graphic 802and/or blurred graphic 902. In such an example, a color represented bythe most pixels may be selected as the overlay color. In variousalternative examples, an overlay color may be selected on the basis ofany of a variety of color sampling techniques known in the art or thatmay be developed.

In various alternative overlay color selections, the color may beselected based on a user selection. For instance, a user may view thegraphic 802 and/or the blurred graphic 902 and select a color that theuser prefers to pair with the graphic 802, such as based on a primarycolor of the graphic 802, a complimentary color to the graphic 802, andthe like. Alternatively, a user may select an overlay color withoutrespect to the graphic 802.

In various examples, the overlay color may be selected to be unique toan entity corresponding to the graphic 802 and/or the icon 800generally. For instance, a company that has multiple icons 800 mayselect or be associated with a common overlay color. In such an example,each background 804 may be generated by blurring the graphic 802 withwhich it is associated and then have the overlay color corresponding tothe associated entity applied to create the final background 804.

Flowcharts

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for displaying a social network user interface.The flowchart may be performed with any of a variety of devices andsystems disclosed herein, as well as with any suitable system known inthe art.

At operation 1000, a content selection display area is displayed, with aprocessor via a network interface device, on a user interface. Thecontent selection display area includes a plurality of subject mattercategories and a plurality of icons, at least some of the plurality oficons being individually associated with at least one of the subjectmatter categories and at least some of the categories being associatedwith at least one of the plurality of icons. Each category is associatedwith at most a predetermined number of the plurality of icons.

In an example, the content selection display area is a ribbon, whereinthe ribbon is scrollable to display all of the plurality of icons. In anexample, the categories correspond to positions within the contentselection display area, wherein a position of a first one of theplurality of categories is fixed and wherein a position of a second oneof the plurality of categories is variable. In an example, the variableposition is based, at least in part, on a user selection and alikelihood of a user accessing an icon associated with the second one ofthe plurality of categories. In an example, the first one of theplurality of icons is fixed in an earliest one of the positions.

At operation 1002, a content display area is displayed with theprocessor on the user interface, the content display area configured todisplay content corresponding to at least one of the plurality of iconsas selected in the content selection display area.

At operation 1004, additional icons related to one of the plurality ofcategories is displayed based on a user selection. In an example, thedisplaying the additional icons is in the content display area.

At operation 1006, multiple ones of the plurality of categories areorganized in variable positions according to user selection andaccording to a likelihood of accessing the icon. In an example, the userselection has a higher priority than the likelihood.

At operation 1008, the plurality of icons are organized into theplurality of categories based, at least in part, on common subjectmatter associated with the plurality of icons

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for displaying a social network content displayarea having multiple pages. The flowchart may be performed with any of avariety of devices and systems disclosed herein, as well as with anysuitable system known in the art.

At operation 1100, a content display area is displayed, using aprocessor via a network interface device, on a user interface, thecontent display area configured to display a plurality of pages, whereinat least one of the plurality of pages is displayed based on a userselection and at least one of the pages being displayed without respectto a user selection.

At operation 1102, the plurality of pages are formed, with theprocessor, into a stack with respect to one another, a newly selectedone of the plurality of pages being displayed on a top of the stack andan oldest-selected one of the plurality of pages being displayed on abottom of the stack, ones of the plurality of pages not on the top ofthe stack being displayed only in part. In an example, displaying theplurality of pages makes each one of the plurality of pages visible inthe content display area. In an example, each one of the plurality ofpages includes social media content, wherein only social media contentrelating to the top one of the plurality of pages is visible.

At operation 1104, one of the plurality of pages is closed by removingthe at least one of the plurality of pages from the stack. In anexample, if the at least one of the plurality of pages is displayed onthe top of the stack, an immediately lower one of the plurality of pageson the stack is subsequently displayed on the top of the stack. In anexample, the plurality of pages are selectable, and closing one of theplurality of pages comprises selecting one of the plurality of pages noton the top of the stack to close ones of the plurality of pages abovethe one of the plurality of pages as selected. In an example, one of theplurality of pages is a permanent page that is not closeable, andclosing of non-permanent pages in the stack is based on selection of thepermanent page.

At operation 1106, a content selection display area is displayed, withthe processor, on the user interface, the content selection display areabeing configured to display a plurality of icons. In an example,displaying one of the plurality of pages is based on selection of acorresponding one of the plurality of icons. In an example, at leastsome of the plurality of pages corresponds to ones of the plurality oficons.

At operation 1108, displaying, based on a selection of one of theplurality of icons, one of the plurality of pages that is currentlydisplayed causes the one of the plurality of pages to be displayed atthe top of the stack. In an example, displaying the one of the pluralityof pages at the top of the stack includes closing ones of the pluralityof pages above the one of the plurality of pages on the stack. In anexample, displaying the one of the plurality of pages at the top of thestack includes creating, on the top of the stack, a second instance ofthe one of the plurality of pages. In an example, displaying the one ofthe plurality of pages at the top of the stack includes moving the oneof the plurality of pages to the top of the stack.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for generating and displaying an icon. Theflowchart may be performed with any of a variety of devices and systemsdisclosed herein, as well as with any suitable system known in the art.

At operation 1200, a blurred form of a graphic is generated based on thegraphic. In an example, the blurred form of the graphic includesblurring the graphic to a 25px radius. In an example, generating thebackground is based on the graphic being increased in size. In anexample, the processor is configured to increase the size of the graphicso that the graphic as increased in size is at least as large as thebackground in length and width.

At operation 1202, a most commonly-occurring color of the graphic isdetermined based on a comparison of at least some of the pixels of thegraphic.

At operation 1204, an icon is generated with a processor, the iconincluding a graphic and a background based, at least in part, on ablurred form of the graphic and an overlay color. In an example, theoverlay color is based on a most commonly-occurring color in thegraphic. In an example, the overlay color is based on a user selection.In an example, the icon is one of a plurality of icons, at least oneother one of the plurality of icons being related to the icon, and theicon and the one other one of the plurality of icons have a commonoverlay color. In an example, the overlay color has an opacity. In anexample, the opacity is approximately forty (40) percent.

At operation 1206, the icon as generated is displayed, on a userinterface via a network interface device.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for inline expansion and contraction of socialnetwork content items in a newsfeed. The flowchart may be performed withany of a variety of devices and systems disclosed herein, as well aswith any suitable system known in the art.

At operation 1300, a user interface is caused, with a processor coupledto a network interface device, to display a newsfeed including socialnetwork content items, the newsfeed being configured to scroll todisplay ones of the social network content items on the user interface,and at least one of the social network content items includes a titleand content.

At operation 1302, a state button is provided, by the processor, on theuser interface corresponding to the social network content items andconfigured to switch the at least one social network content itembetween the expanded state and contracted state upon a user selection ofthe state button.

At operation 1304, a social network content item is switched between theexpanded state and the contracted state with an animation transitioningbetween the expanded state and the contracted state.

At operation 1306, at least one of the social network content items isconfigured in an expanded state corresponding to displaying all of thecontent of the social network content item upon a user selection. In anexample, the at least one social network content item occupies a firstlinear space in the newsfeed in the expanded state and a second linearspace in the newsfeed in the contracted state, the first linear spacebeing greater than the second linear space. In an example, multiple onesof the social network content items are separately configurable in theexpanded and contracted states, and each social network content item inthe contracted state occupies the second linear space. In an example,the multiple ones of the social network content items have differentfirst linear spaces in the expanded state.

At operation 1308, upon switching a first one of the social networkcontent items from the contracted state to the expanded state, shiftinga second one of the social network content items lower on the newsfeedthan the first one of the social network content items shifts lower inthe newsfeed to create space to display the content of the first socialnetwork content item

At operation 1310, the newsfeed is scrolled so that the at least onesocial network content item is not displayed on the user interface.

At operation 1312, when the at least one social network content item isin the expanded state, switching, with the processor, the social networkcontent item from the expanded state to the contracted state when the atleast one social network content item is scrolled off of the userinterface. In an example, switching the social network content itemincludes switching the at least one social network content item to thecontracted state as the social network content item is scrolled off ofthe user interface. In an example, switching the social network contentitem includes switching the at least one social network content item tothe contracted state with an animation transitioning from the expandedstate to the contracted state.

At operation 1314, the newsfeed is scrolled so that the at least onesocial network content item is displayed on the user interface, the atleast one social network content item being displayed in a contractedstate corresponding to displaying a sub-portion of the content.

System

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine 1400,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.Specifically, FIG. 14 shows a diagrammatic representation of the machine1400 in the example form of a computer system and within whichinstructions 1424 (e.g., software) for causing the machine 1400 toperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein may beexecuted. In alternative embodiments, the machine 1400 operates as astandalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to othermachines. In a networked deployment, the machine 1400 may operate in thecapacity of a server machine or a client machine in a server-clientnetwork environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment. The machine 1400 may be a servercomputer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tabletcomputer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a webappliance, a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, or anymachine capable of executing the instructions 1424, sequentially orotherwise, that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further,while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include a collection of machines that individually orjointly execute the instructions 1424 to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

The machine 1400 includes a processor 1402 (e.g., a central processingunit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor(DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), aradio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), or any suitable combinationthereof), a main memory 1404, and a static memory 1406, which areconfigured to communicate with each other via a bus 1408. The machine1400 may further include a graphics display 1410 (e.g., a plasma displaypanel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The machine1400 may also include an alphanumeric input device 1412 (e.g., akeyboard), a cursor control device 1414 (e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, atrackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointing instrument), astorage unit 1416, a signal generation device 1418 (e.g., a speaker),and a network interface device 1420.

The storage unit 1416 includes a machine-readable medium 1422 on whichis stored the instructions 1424 (e.g., software) embodying any one ormore of the methodologies or functions described herein. Theinstructions 1424 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 1404, within the processor 1402 (e.g., within theprocessor's cache memory), or both, during execution thereof by themachine 1400. Accordingly, the main memory 1404 and the processor 1402may be considered as machine-readable media. The instructions 1424 maybe transmitted or received over a network 1426 via the network interfacedevice 1420.

As used herein, the term “memory” refers to a machine-readable mediumable to store data temporarily or permanently and may be taken toinclude, but not be limited to, random-access memory (RAM), read-onlymemory (ROM), buffer memory, flash memory, and cache memory. While themachine-readable medium 1422 is shown in an example embodiment to be asingle medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should be taken toinclude a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, or associated caches and servers) able to storeinstructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also be taken toinclude any medium, or combination of multiple media, that is capable ofstoring instructions (e.g., software) for execution by a machine (e.g.,machine 1400), such that the instructions, when executed by one or moreprocessors of the machine (e.g., processor 1402), cause the machine toperform any one or more of the methodologies described herein.Accordingly, a “machine-readable medium” refers to a single storageapparatus or device, as well as “cloud-based” storage systems or storagenetworks that include multiple storage apparatus or devices. The term“machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but notbe limited to, one or more data repositories in the form of asolid-state memory, an optical medium, a magnetic medium, or anysuitable combination thereof.

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Certain embodiments are described herein as including logic or a numberof components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules may constitute eithersoftware modules (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readable medium or ina transmission signal) or hardware modules. A “hardware module” is atangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may beconfigured or arranged in a certain physical manner. In various exampleembodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone computersystem, a client computer system, or a server computer system) or one ormore hardware modules of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a groupof processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application orapplication portion) as a hardware module that operates to performcertain operations as described herein.

In some embodiments, a hardware module may be implemented mechanically,electronically, or any suitable combination thereof. For example, ahardware module may include dedicated circuitry or logic that ispermanently configured to perform certain operations. For example, ahardware module may be a special-purpose processor, such as a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or an ASIC. A hardware module may alsoinclude programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configuredby software to perform certain operations. For example, a hardwaremodule may include software encompassed within a general-purposeprocessor or other programmable processor. It will be appreciated thatthe decision to implement a hardware module mechanically, in dedicatedand permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configuredcircuitry (e.g., configured by software) may be driven by cost and timeconsiderations.

Accordingly, the phrase “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. As used herein,“hardware-implemented module” refers to a hardware module. Consideringembodiments in which hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g.,programmed), each of the hardware modules need not be configured orinstantiated at any one instance in time. For example, where a hardwaremodule comprises a general-purpose processor configured by software tobecome a special-purpose processor, the general-purpose processor may beconfigured as respectively different special-purpose processors (e.g.,comprising different hardware modules) at different times. Software mayaccordingly configure a processor, for example, to constitute aparticular hardware module at one instance of time and to constitute adifferent hardware module at a different instance of time.

Hardware modules can provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multiplehardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may be achievedthrough signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuits and buses)between or among two or more of the hardware modules. In embodiments inwhich multiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated atdifferent times, communications between such hardware modules may beachieved, for example, through the storage and retrieval of informationin memory structures to which the multiple hardware modules have access.For example, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions describedherein. As used herein, “processor-implemented module” refers to ahardware module implemented using one or more processors.

Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented, a processor being an example of hardware. Forexample, at least some of the operations of a method may be performed byone or more processors or processor-implemented modules. Moreover, theone or more processors may also operate to support performance of therelevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a “softwareas a service” (SaaS). For example, at least some of the operations maybe performed by a group of computers (as examples of machines includingprocessors), with these operations being accessible via a network (e.g.,the Internet) and via one or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., anapplication program interface (API)).

The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine,but deployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments,the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other exampleembodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modulesmay be distributed across a number of geographic locations.

EXAMPLES

In Example 1, a system, includes a network interface devicecommunicatively coupled to a user interface and a processor, coupled tothe network interface device, configured to cause the user interface todisplay a content selection display area, the content selection displayarea including a plurality of subject matter categories and a pluralityof icons, at least some of the plurality of icons being individuallyassociated with at least one of the subject matter categories and atleast some of the categories being associated with at least one of theplurality of icons, wherein each category is associated with at most apredetermined number of the plurality of icons and a content displayarea configured to display content corresponding to at least one of theplurality of icons as selected in the content selection display area.

In Example 2, the system of Example 1 optionally further includes thatthe content selection display area is a ribbon and that the ribbon isscrollable to display all of the plurality of icons.

In Example 3, the system of any one or more of Examples 1 and 2optionally further includes that the processor is configured to displayadditional icons related to one of the plurality of categories based ona user selection.

In Example 4, the system of any one or more of Examples 1-3 optionallyfurther includes that the processor is configured to display theadditional icons in the content display area.

In Example 5, the system of any one or more of Examples 1-4 optionallyfurther includes that the categories correspond to positions within thecontent selection display area, wherein a position of a first one of theplurality of categories is fixed and wherein a position of a second oneof the plurality of categories is variable.

In Example 6, the system of any one or more of Examples 1-5 optionallyfurther includes that the variable position is based, at least in part,on a user selection and a likelihood of a user accessing an iconassociated with the second one of the plurality of categories.

In Example 7, the system of any one or more of Examples 1-6 optionallyfurther includes that multiple ones of the plurality of categories arein variable positions organized according to user selection andaccording to the likelihood of accessing the icon.

In Example 8, the system of any one or more of Examples 1-7 optionallyfurther includes that the user selection has a higher priority than thelikelihood.

In Example 9, the system of any one or more of Examples 1-8 optionallyfurther includes that the first one of the plurality of icons is fixedin an earliest one of the positions.

In Example 10, the system of any one or more of Examples 1-9 optionallyfurther includes that the plurality of icons are organized into theplurality of categories based, at least in part, on at least one of acommon subject matter associated with the plurality of icons, a userselection, and a likelihood of the icon being selected.

In Example 11, the system of any one or more of Examples 1-10 optionallyfurther includes that the plurality of icons are organized into theplurality of categories based, at least in part, on the user selectionand the likelihood of the icon being selected.

In Example 12, a method includes displaying, with a processor via anetwork interface device, a content selection display area on a userinterface, the content selection display area including a plurality ofsubject matter categories and a plurality of icons, at least some of theplurality of icons being individually associated with at least one ofthe subject matter categories and at least some of the categories beingassociated with at least one of the plurality of icons, wherein eachcategory is associated with at most a predetermined number of theplurality of icons. The method further includes displaying, with theprocessor via the network interface device, a content display area onthe user interface, the content display area configured to displaycontent corresponding to at least one of the plurality of icons asselected in the content selection display area.

In Example 13, the method of Example 12 optionally further includes thatthe content selection display area is a ribbon and that the ribbon isscrollable to display all of the plurality of icons.

In Example 14, the method of any one or more of Examples 12 and 13optionally further includes displaying additional icons related to oneof the plurality of categories based on a user selection.

In Example 15, the method of any one or more of Examples 12-14optionally further includes that displaying the additional icons is inthe content display area.

In Example 16, the method of any one or more of Examples 12-15optionally further includes that the categories correspond to positionswithin the content selection display area, wherein a position of a firstone of the plurality of categories is fixed and wherein a position of asecond one of the plurality of categories is variable.

In Example 17, the method of any one or more of Examples 12-16optionally further includes that the variable position is based, atleast in part, on a user selection and a likelihood of a user accessingan icon associated with the second one of the plurality of categories.

In Example 18, the method of any one or more of Examples 12-17optionally further includes organizing multiple ones of the plurality ofcategories in variable positions according to user selection andaccording to the likelihood of accessing the icon.

In Example 19, the method of any one or more of Examples 12-18optionally further includes that the user selection has a higherpriority than the likelihood.

In Example 20, the method of any one or more of Examples 12-19optionally further includes that the first one of the plurality of iconsis fixed in an earliest one of the positions.

In Example 21, the method of any one or more of Examples 12-20optionally further includes organizing the plurality of icons into theplurality of categories based, at least in part, on at least one of acommon subject matter associated with the plurality of icons, a userselection, and a likelihood of the icon to be selected.

In Example 22, the method of any one or more of Examples 12-21optionally further includes that the plurality of icons are organizedinto the plurality of categories based, at least in part, on the userselection and the likelihood of the icon being selected.

Some portions of this specification are presented in terms of algorithmsor symbolic representations of operations on data stored as bits orbinary digital signals within a machine memory (e.g., a computermemory). These algorithms or symbolic representations are examples oftechniques used by those of ordinary skill in the data processing artsto convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. Asused herein, an “algorithm” is a self-consistent sequence of operationsor similar processing leading to a desired result. In this context,algorithms and operations involve physical manipulation of physicalquantities. Typically, but not necessarily, such quantities may take theform of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of beingstored, accessed, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwisemanipulated by a machine. It is convenient at times, principally forreasons of common usage, to refer to such signals using words such as“data,” “content,” “bits,” “values,” “elements,” “symbols,”“characters,” “terms,” “numbers,” “numerals,” or the like. These words,however, are merely convenient labels and are to be associated withappropriate physical quantities.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or any suitable combination thereof), registers, orother machine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation. Furthermore, unless specifically stated otherwise, theterms “a” or “an” are herein used, as is common in patent documents, toinclude one or more than one instance. Finally, as used herein, theconjunction “or” refers to a non-exclusive “or,” unless specificallystated otherwise.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a network interface devicecommunicatively coupled to a user interface; and a processor, coupled tothe network interface device, configured to cause the user interface todisplay: a content selection display area, the content selection displayarea including a plurality of subject matter categories and a pluralityof icons, at least some of the plurality of icons being individuallyassociated with at least one of the subject matter categories and atleast some of the categories being associated with at least one of theplurality of icons, wherein each category is associated with at most apredetermined number of the plurality of icons; and a content displayarea configured to display content corresponding to at least one of theplurality of icons as selected in the content selection display area. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein the content selection display area is aribbon, wherein the ribbon is scrollable to display all of the pluralityof icons.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configuredto display additional icons related to one of the plurality ofcategories based on a user selection.
 4. The system of claim 3, whereinthe processor is configured to display the additional icons in thecontent display area.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the categoriescorrespond to positions within the content selection display area,wherein a position of a first one of the plurality of categories isfixed and wherein a position of a second one of the plurality ofcategories is variable.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the variableposition is based, at least in part, on a user selection and alikelihood of a user accessing an icon associated with the second one ofthe plurality of categories.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein multipleones of the plurality of categories are in variable positions organizedaccording to user selection and according to the likelihood of accessingthe icon.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the user selection has ahigher priority than the likelihood.
 9. The system of claim 5, whereinthe first one of the plurality of icons is fixed in an earliest one ofthe positions.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of iconsare organized into the plurality of categories based, at least in part,on at least one of a common subject matter associated with the pluralityof icons, a user selection, and a likelihood of the icon being selected.11. The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of icons are organizedinto the plurality of categories based, at least in part, on the userselection and the likelihood of the icon being selected.
 12. An method,comprising: displaying, with a processor via a network interface device,a content selection display area on a user interface, the contentselection display area including a plurality of subject mattercategories and a plurality of icons, at least some of the plurality oficons being individually associated with at least one of the subjectmatter categories and at least some of the categories being associatedwith at least one of the plurality of icons, wherein each category isassociated with at most a predetermined number of the plurality oficons; and displaying, with the processor via the network interfacedevice, a content display area on the user interface, the contentdisplay area configured to display content corresponding to at least oneof the plurality of icons as selected in the content selection displayarea.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the content selection displayarea is a ribbon, wherein the ribbon is scrollable to display all of theplurality of icons.
 14. The method of claim 12, further comprisingdisplaying additional icons related to one of the plurality ofcategories based on a user selection.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein displaying the additional icons is in the content display area.16. The method of claim 12, wherein the categories correspond topositions within the content selection display area, wherein a positionof a first one of the plurality of categories is fixed and wherein aposition of a second one of the plurality of categories is variable. 17.The method of claim 16, wherein the variable position is based, at leastin part, on a user selection and a likelihood of a user accessing anicon associated with the second one of the plurality of categories. 18.The method of claim 17, further comprising organizing multiple ones ofthe plurality of categories in variable positions according to userselection and according to the likelihood of accessing the icon.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the user selection has a higher prioritythan the likelihood.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the first oneof the plurality of icons is fixed in an earliest one of the positions.21. The method of claim 12, further comprising organizing the pluralityof icons into the plurality of categories based, at least in part, on atleast one of a common subject matter associated with the plurality oficons, a user selection, and a likelihood of the icon being selected.22. The method of claim 21, wherein the plurality of icons are organizedinto the plurality of categories based, at least in part, on the userselection and the likelihood of the icon being selected.